February continued the topsy-turvy weather that has typified this winter. In Windham we had two days that hit the mid 60’s, a number of mornings below zero, very little snow but inches of sleet, rain, and ice. As I write this, we are having the first major snowstorm of the month, but it is falling on bare ground.
What does all of this mean for the fishing?
Unless we get some major storms, spring snowmelt will be minimal in Maine and streams and rivers should be fishable early. I am still worried about drought conditions in western Maine, we need a big snowpack melting to refresh the groundwater and we do not have it. They did get one 18-inch snow in mid-February that most of Maine didn’t get, but with subsequent warm weather it wasn’t enough.
With no insulating snow and some very cold nights, ice cover is thicker than you might expect on ponds and lakes. Many of the smaller water bodies in southern and central Maine have 20 inches of ice. If cold weather continues, ice out dates maybe normal, certainly later than the last few years. Ice Out in the Windham area last year was March 28th. I am not sure 20 inches of ice will melt by then.